All is Fair

Extract from the personal files of Twenty Hargreaves

September 8th, V26 (2046AD) – Early Morning

“What’s your plan, Nata?” I asked the Novice.

Now that I asked her directly, she suddenly became shy, her previous confidence evaporating under my intense gaze.

“Well, it is a bit of a long shot” she admitted nervously. She looked to the Bishop but he had no idea either what she had in mind. He smiled at her encouragingly and urged her to tell us what she was thinking. It was not like we had any other plans at the moment.

“The Nerdwork” she said. The Bishop and I gave her equally confused looks so she rushed on. “It’s a network of gamers and LARPers and net divers, those kinds of people. One of the things we all talk about are the weird characters and events that happen here in Pan City and Spitfield. The Zone is unlike anywhere else in the world and we have followers from all over wanting to know about this stuff”

“So the Nerdwork members know about all the magic and battles that happen here?” I asked, confused. “How are they not shut down by Archimedes or the other AI’s? None of the big players here would want that kind of information discussed online, even by kids”

“They do crack down on us when we hit a sensitive nerve, but there are too many of us for even the AI’s to censor” Nata admitted. “Mostly they rely on us being seen as crackpots and hackers, so whatever we post is considered suspect by most people. But there is always a core of truth to what we put out there and I have a lot of reliable contacts”

The Bishop made a face, his discomfort evident. “You are a member of an Order dedicated to dealing with dangerous supernatural foes, Impassionata” he said. “You risk having punishment under the Covenant imposed on you if you are discovered”

She bowed her head to her superior, but I could see the determination on her face.

“Do you think your friends in the Nerdwork could find Venerae?” I interjected, trying to prevent the Bishop shutting her down.

“Yes” she answered, her voice gaining strength. “Sister Venerae is a legend in this city, despite her best attempts to keep herself hidden from the public” Nata lifted her face and addressed the Bishop directly. “I am well aware of the need for secrecy in our Order. My true name and role has never been revealed to the Nerdwork, and I am not alone in hiding my identity. Staying hidden is one of the ways we protect ourselves from Archimedes and the others”

Bishop Wainwright had the look of someone used to leading troops in battle and making hard decisions. Neither of us could deny the strength of will evident in this fierce young woman, ready to do battle with whatever was set against her. Millie would get on with her like a house on fire I was sure. I hoped they got a chance to rekindle their friendship from the Orphanage days.

“Very well” the Bishop agreed. “Use your contacts and find Venerae for us. Someone must know where she is”

“Thank you, Bishop” Nata said with relief and bowed to her mentor. She turned to me, her face alive with excitement now she had permission to use her plan. “Come on Twenty, we need to contact some people”.

The Bishop left us while we dressed in our armour once more, helping each other where needed. My wounds were healed far more than my own body could achieve in such a short time. Nata explained that the Bishop had “laid hands” on us both, invoking powerful healing magic. He was not just a warrior in the old days, he had been a Paladin she said. They were as skilled at causing injury as treating it apparently. I was past the point of being surprised at what the Zone had to reveal any more, I was just grateful I was back in fighting shape.

Nata only needed her phone to make contact with her friends, so I followed her down a corridor and up some stairs to the main chapel. There were few worshippers in evidence at this time of the night, likely all employees or followers of the Church itself. A couple of them greeted Nata by name as we walked past, unfazed by her outfit or mine.

We sat side by side on a wooden pew, facing the Christ on his cross above the altar. Candles flickered there in the dim light of the hall, throwing shadows over the caring face of Jesus as he watched over us. If he existed, and at this point I was beginning to wonder, what did he think of the Orders such as Natas?

As had been explained to me, Archangel Michael commanded the Heavenly Host in the name of his Father. The Order were the Warriors of his Host here in the mortal world, subservient to his command just like the Angels. Yet it seemed like the Order had to undertake some seriously dirty work here in the Zone. How did such things sit with his followers?

I looked at Nata as she tapped away at her phone, sending requests to the Nerdwork members to trace Venerae. She had proven to me already she was a skilled fighter, but how would her spirit and faith handle the death of friends or having to kill a human?

Millie and I had killed people before, sometimes without a thought. In my case it was part of my Guard training, yet it was not something I was proud of. I did not ascribe to any faith, but I did feel the weight of what I could only call my sins. I hoped Nata would not face such burdens, at least not for some time.

“OK, I am getting some replies already” said an excited Nata. She scrolled through some messages and then her face lit up. “I knew it” she said.

“Knew what?” I asked as Nata continued to look at her phone.

“Venerae has been spotted around Pan City, searching buildings” said Nata. “More importantly she has been spotted talking to a raven”

“You mean one of those black scavenger birds?” I asked her. “Why would she be talking to a bird?”

“There is a powerful Witch living here and she has a raven as her Familiar. That is the one we referred to earlier, a woman named Longflower. Rumour is she and Venerae are friends even though the Order forbids us to have dealings with her kind”

“I think Longflower was lying when she said her Children could not find Venerae”

“So do we ask the Bishop to question her about where Venerae is?” I wondered.

“No” said Nata, deflated. “It would cause more problems if the head of our Order were to accuse Longflower of deliberately lying. Venerae must have asked her to keep her whereabouts quiet for now”

“Then the answer is easy” I said to Nata, “I just go and visit this Longflower and ask her personally. The Order does not have to be involved”

Nata pondered for just a moment. “You will need me to take you there. Her residence is on the other side of the City”

I checked the time on my processor. It was 3.27 in the morning, too early to be arriving at someone’s door unannounced.

“I would appreciate that, provided it does not break any more rules of your Order. However, I think we need to have some more rest before we head out. Is there someplace nearby we can wait a few hours?”

“I know just the place” Nata responded. “Are you OK with heights?”

She took me through some chambers, spoke to a young Novice she knew to score some packets of biscuits and a bottle of water, then led me to a narrow staircase that rose upwards around the inside of a tower. I did not grumble about the climb, as the Bishop’s touch had fixed my left leg completely.

The stairs ended at a small door that revealed an enclosed viewing room near the top of the tower, windows looking out over the night scape of Pan City. Nearby the Tower of Babel was lit up, lights aglow from its windows.

“The church bells are above us, operated remotely, but they are only allowed to ring them on special occasions. We won’t be disturbed” Nata told me. She sat on a circular padded bench that occupied the centre space, with incredible views from any position.

I sat beside her, dropping my bag of equipment on the floor.

Nata opened a packet of the biscuits, simple ones that were crunchy and sweet. I took two and ate them gratefully.

“It is a beautiful view” I said to Nata and she nodded her agreement.

“I come up here whenever I visit the church” she said. “It is meant for contemplation and private prayers. Some of the Novices sneak up here to play games and just talk about stuff”

“Novices like you, Nata?” I teased her. She blushed again, reminding me that she may be a capable fighter but she was still young. I settled myself against the cushioned seat and closed my eyes. It was a habit from my time in the Guard to take rest whenever the opportunity allowed it. I set my internal clock to give me a wake up alarm in two hours.

“Why were you in the Orphanage?” I asked Nata. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to” I added hastily, knowing this can be a sensitive subject, but I was curious. Nata was an interesting mix of sweet young woman and determined warrior which made me wonder how this had occurred.

“I don’t mind” said Nata. I could hear the drowsiness in her voice, so like me she settled back into the seat, her shoulder touching mine. “I was born in Sri Lanka but my parents brought my younger sister and I here when I was just two years old. My father was a construction engineer and he was employed in building work here in Pan City. Mother was a software programmer and together they made a good living. Sister and I loved it here, growing up in such an amazingly huge and sophisticated city.

Then father was killed on a building site, a big disaster. Him and about a dozen other people lost their lives. The review board blamed my father’s work and we lost all our privileges. My mother tried hard to keep us safe and looked after, but we ended up living in a cheap apartment right near the wall, not far from Haven.

It was a bad area, with lots of crime and gangs. This was before the Board of Governors cracked down on them, back in V18. One day I came home from my school to find the door to our apartment forced open. I found my mother and little sister inside. They had been attacked and things done to them, terrible things. The men involved had stolen everything we had of value, but that had not been enough.

My mother survived for about three days afterwards and she was able to give the Guard a description of the men. That plus the DNA evidence meant they were able to find the four men involved and sent them to the labour camps up north”

Nata paused, her voice thick with emotion from the memories.

“My parents had been strong in their faith and raised us both to be believers as well. It was all that sustained me in the aftermath. I was fortunate that the church decided I could be sent to the Little Angels Orphanage. They cared for me and kept me sane, despite everything”

“So why did you join the Order?” I asked her softly.

“They offered me something no-one else could” she replied, her voice becoming stronger. “The strength to destroy the wicked and bring justice to the guilty”

I felt Nata turn to me on the seat, her hand reaching out to grip my arm with unexpected intensity.

“I won’t let the innocent be harmed, not while I can fight for them” she said. I opened my eyes and looked into her own tear filled ones, dark and wide in the dim light.

“I understand, Nata, I understand” I answered her gently. She was just like the rest of us, full of love for those we cared about and rage for those we hated. It made for a difficult life but it was the path we had to follow, whether we chose it or not.

“Thank you for sharing your past with me” I assured her and she settled back once more, still holding my arm but relaxing her fierce grip. So much like my own dear Millie I thought again. With a final worry about where she was I fell into a deep sleep.

=====

I awoke just before my alarm was set to go off. Faint dawn light was painting the nearby towers, sneaking under the overcast morning sky. A warm weight was across my lap, the sleeping shape of Nata identified by her gentle snoring.

With a careful shake of her shoulder I woke her up, the woman snorting and then stretching before she realised where her head was lying. Nata practically levitated off me and stood unsteadily on her feet, apologising profusely. I assured her it was fine , that I was used to this kind of behaviour from Millie. She calmed down and sat next to me, not touching this time, combing fingers through her long hair to get it under control. I could see the embarrassed blush extending right down her neck.

“Nata, the Nerdwork contacts you have, could they trace Millie as well?” I asked her. It was something that had been niggling at my thoughts ever since I heard of this group.

“Well, Millie is based in the Spit so we have less members out there. But if she has been spotted here we may get some contacts. Can you give me a current image to use as a reference?”

I sent her a selection of photos of my beloved from my phone. In case Millie ever saw them in the network I tried to pick the more flattering ones. Definitely made sure I did not send any of the special ones I had of her. Those were for private enjoyment only.

Nata thanked me and sent a couple she deemed the most useful to her friends.

“We’ll just have to see what hits come back” Nata told me.

We ate some biscuits and shared the water in companionable silence. It had been only a day that I had known Nata and yet we felt close already. Shared conflict can bring you closer to strangers, much like Millie and I had bonded in such a short time.

“Shall we go?” I asked Nata and she nodded her agreement, her eyes still scanning her phone.

“The Bishop has sent a message, asking us to stop by the shrine before we leave”

“OK” I agreed and we made our way down the narrow staircase to the main chapel floor. It was a quick walk to the shrine dedicated to Michael, where we found Bishop Wainwright seated with another man.

He stood up as we approached, a giant taller and broader than me, with a shock of dyed blonde hair and wearing dark glasses over his eyes. I stopped moving and Nata looked back at me, wondering why I had a stunned look on my face.

“Sorry about the surprise” the giant rumbled, “I guess Nata forgot to warn you I was here too”. He was a Jack from the Guard, no-one I knew personally. Even in street clothes he looked dangerous, making my right hand itch to draw my pistol.

“This is Dog, my close combat trainer” said Nata, trying to lighten the sudden tension. “He is also retired, just like you” She placed extra emphasis on the “retired” part.

Dog came forward and put his hand out to shake. I looked down at his hand, then back up at him. His eyes were hidden behind his glasses yet I could see the distinctive gleam of a cybernetic eye on his right side. Standard for all the combat Units in the Guard.

He stood with his arm still outstretched for a few seconds, then lowered it to his side.

“Guard Unit MV21-K-Oh Nine” he said, smirking at my discomfort, “Retired in V25” he added. That made him about a year older than me. “Specialised for Close Assault and Tactical Armour”

“So you work for the Order now?” I asked cooly. This must be the guy who taught Nata the Guard combat stances I had observed last night.

“Only when the boss gives me free time” Dog laughed with genuine mirth. “I am part of our mutual friend’s little gang of retirees. I am here playing courier for today. All the others are busy, and I wanted to see how my star pupil was going.” He looked at Nata who basked under his praise. Our mutual friend had to be Jericho-Three, with his fingers jammed deep into every pie across the Zone I had no doubt.

I put my own right hand out to Dog. He examined it for a moment then with a big grin took it and gave me a firm handshake.

“You have trained her well” I told him and he nodded agreement. He released my hand and went over to talk to Nata. She was watching him with puppy dog eyes as he asked her about the fight yesterday, her posture all animated and excited. I wondered how that was going to pan out, since she was a Novice in a religious Order and he was a clone like me.

Bishop Wainwright beckoned me to a seat next to him, leaving Dog and Nata in their earnest master to pupil discussion. He gave me a small heavy package, wrapped in a light black plastic.

“These are for you, Twenty” he said. “They are the same magazines as your Guard pistol, but both are loaded with a special type of ammunition”.

I opened the wrapping and examined one of the two magazines revealed. The top most cartridge had a strange silvery bullet, faint markings visible on the surface. The rest were the same, stacked neatly into the magazine.

“Marked rounds, crafted by our armourers for use against creatures from the Dark Side” Bishop Wainwright explained. “They won’t necessarily kill such creatures outright, but they will hurt them”

“Thank you Bishop” I replied gratefully, “Your gift is greatly appreciated” I put both magazines into my bag. I would switch out my pistol to the new rounds as soon as I could, but even an atheist like me would not do that in the middle of a church.

He also handed me a plastic Ident card, labelled with the Consolidated Churches emblem. It was a hard copy version of the Access card that Nata already carried.

“This will help if you are stopped for any reason. You are currently listed as a special advisor to the Church” I thanked the Bishop again and he patted my hand. “Just get everyone home safe again and I will be happy”

Dog and Nata came over to us and the Bishop bid us all well. Once he left, Nata told me Dog had a vehicle in the Abbey parking lot below and had agreed to drive us to the address for Longflower.

As a group we left the church and made our way to the parking lot. Just as I suspected, Dog had an oversized electric SUV with custom paintjob and chromed tyre rims. Nata climbed happily into the passenger seat without a moment’s hesitation, chatting with Dog like they were just going to a mall for icecream. I squeezed my larger frame into the rear seats, placing my bag of equipment next to me.

The interior smelled of sandalwood and gun oil, a strange but rather pleasant combination. As Dog drove us out of the underground lot and into the early morning, I wondered if my life was going to get any stranger than it had in the last 24 hours. Turned out it would.